France gets around 20% of its electricity from renewable sources – 8% from wind energy, but it needs more to meet its climate goals while reinforcing energy security. The war in Ukraine and disruptions in its conventional electricity generation fleet are putting France’s energy system under stress. The French Government is taking unprecedented steps to maximise renewable electricity generation as part of the solution.
Last week the Greek Parliament approved Greece’s first Offshore Wind Law, a key milestone to kick-off offshore wind development. In the coming months the Greek Government will adopt several decrees specifying future offshore wind zones and auction criteria. By 2030 Greece wants to build at least 2 GW of offshore wind. Given the characteristics of Greek waters, much of it will be floating offshore wind farms.
The Finnish Government has granted permits to lease its seabed for the development of two large-scale offshore wind farms. State-owned forest and seabed administrator Metsähallitus obtained permission to lease these areas.
On 28 June WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson spoke at an EU Commission Forum on Protecting and Facilitating Investment in the Single Market, organised by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Financial Stability and Capital Markets (DG FISMA). The main topic of discussion was how to facilitate sustainable investments.
The German Parliament has adopted a new Offshore Wind Law (WindSeeG). It makes important changes to the design of Germany’s offshore wind auctions.
The German Parliament has adopted a new Onshore Wind Law (WindLandG) which aims to expand onshore wind by a massive 10 GW a year from 2025. It’s part of an “Easter Package” of measures which also enshrines the principle that the expansion of renewables is a matter of “overriding public interest”.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has announced the results of the UK’s fourth Contract-for-Difference (CfD) auction round (AR4) for renewables. New renewables projects of almost 11 GW were awarded. That’s double what was awarded in the last round and nearly as much as the previous three rounds combined. Wind energy got 8.5 GW, most of it offshore. AR4 cements the UK’s position as the European leader in offshore wind. AR4 also marks a comeback of onshore wind in the U.K. and for the first time awards a floating wind project.
At a hybrid event jointly hosted by WindEurope, SolarPower Europe, the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (UWEA) and the Solar Energy Association of Ukraine (ASEU), EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson reinforced the EU’s determination to support Ukraine – both throughout the ongoing war and in the following period of reconstruction.
The EU Energy Ministers have agreed their position on changes to the Renewable Energy Directive and Energy Efficiency Directive, paving the way for faster build-out of renewables and streamlined permitting for wind farms. They agreed the Renewable Energy Directive should now include additional measures as proposed in the REPowerEU Action Plan to increase the EU’s energy security. EU Energy Ministers will now finalise the changes in negotiations with the European Parliament in autumn.
A major expansion of Europe’s offshore wind capacity is on the horizon and Poland wants to be a leading player. The country aims to build 28 GW of new offshore wind capacity by 2050. A new report now finds that the upcoming global shortage of specialised offshore wind vessels might pose a risk for project execution in Poland and worldwide. Poland should see the shortage as an opportunity to build up a fleet of modern vessels to service national and international markets.
The European Commission’s REPowerEU Action Plan of 18 May 2022 set out detailed measures to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the growth of renewables. Crucially it tackles the permitting bottlenecks that are holding back the expansion of wind and solar. ?But simpler and faster rules and procedures to build wind farms doesn’t mean levelling down on nature and biodiversity protection. ?Both are essential. ?They go hand in hand.
The world’s largest floating wind energy event, FOWT 2022, took place on 16 May in Montpellier. WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson moderated the Ministerial panel comprising: Elisabeth Sæther, Norwegian State Secretary for Energy; Sophie Mourlon, Director for Energy at the French Ministry for the Ecological Transition; and Ivan McKee, Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise in the Scottish Government.
A number of governments are now tempted to apply ‘negative bidding’ in their wind energy auctions, to make companies pay them for the right to develop a new wind farm.
The European Commission has presented a new package of measures to help the EU wean itself off Russian fossil fuels well before 2030. The “REPowerEU Action Plan” spells out that renewables are at the core of Europe’s energy security. And crucially it tackles the permitting bottlenecks that are holding back the expansion of wind and solar. A new law will enshrine the principle that renewables are presumed to be in the “overriding public interest”. And they’ve explained in detailed recommendation and guidance documents how Governments can simplify their permitting processes.
Today European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will participate in an Offshore Wind Summit with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the Belgian Prime Ministers Alexander De Croo, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. In a joint declaration they are set to highlight the role of home-grown North Sea offshore wind in strengthening the EU’s energy security. The event coincides with the presentation of the EU’s REPowerEU Action Plan which will also underline the central role of wind energy.
From 27 to 30 September 2022, Hamburg will become an energy hub for the world. For four days, at WindEnergy Hamburg everything at the trade show site will revolve around generating energy from wind and its exploitation. At the H2EXPO & CONFERENCE, it is all about the generation, transport, storage and use of green hydrogen. Visitors and exhibitors can use the accompanying conference programme on open-access stages at the heart of the trade fair for industry-specific dialogue and network building.
The Netherlands are about to close the bidding in their latest offshore wind auction – for the Hollandse Kust West site.
WindEurope has published its annual Finance and Investment Trends report. It shows investor confidence in wind energy remains high. Europe invested €41bn in new wind farms in 2021. This is financing 25 GW of new capacity, a record. But the investments are falling well short of the 35 GW a year of new wind the EU now needs to build to meet its 2030 climate and energy security targets.
The EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) has issued its final assessment of the EU electricity market design last week. It comes at a time of volatile electricity prices and unprecedented supply insecurity linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Its core message is the EU must maintain its electricity price setting mechanism and preserve the Internal Energy Market, a key asset in dealing with the crisis. Earlier this month WindEurope published a new paper on electricity market design, stressing that investor certainty is essential to mobilise the massive investments needed to improve Europe’s energy security.
WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson moderated the US-EU Energy Council High-Level Business Forum on Offshore Wind in New Jersey on 27 April.
On 14 April WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson spoke at the Mix.e event in Lyon, France. The discussion centred around the energy transition and its acceptability. The wind industry actively engages communities around Europe closely when it builds new wind farms, including in France. It is important these practices are applied everywhere and that communities continue to benefit from the energy transition.
Last week the United Kingdom presented its new Energy Strategy. It is heavily influenced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the desire to increase energy security by reducing the import of fossil fuels. The UK now commits to phase out Russian oil and coal by the end of 2022 and to reduce total gas consumption by over 40% by 2030. To offset this reduction in imported fuels, the UK wants even more offshore wind. The Strategy is rather disappointing on onshore wind, yet it leaves the door open for future onshore wind development.
Electrification is the most cost-effective way to decarbonise Europe’s economy. Direct and indirect electrification will make up 75% of Europe’s energy demand by 2050. The European Commission wants wind to be half of the EU’s electricity by then. However, this can only happen if power grids are optimised and expanded in a timely manner.
The German Government passed the so-called “Easter Package”, the most profound series of changes to German energy policy since the introduction of competitive auctions in 2017. By 2030 Germany aims for 80% renewables in total electricity consumption. Already from 2025 onwards Germany wants to install 10 GW of new onshore wind energy every year alone. To deliver this expansion in onshore wind the Government proposal increases annual auction volumes to up to 12 GW. The package also increased the German offshore wind targets, meaning that Germany will build more than 10 GW of new wind every year from 2025.
On Friday 18 March WindEurope contributed to a high-level roundtable organised by ACEA, the European Vehicle Manufacturers Association, along with major vehicle manufacturers and industry associations. In a joint declaration, WindEurope and other key associations called on European policymakers to implement the right policies to back the transition towards zero-emission transport.
The German Energy Regulator (Bundesnetzagentur) has announced the results of Germany’s latest onshore wind auction. After almost two years of undersubscribed auctions it was the second consecutive auction that was oversubscribed. And that’s not the only good news for onshore wind in Germany. The permitting numbers are up. And the new Government wants to scale up the build-out of new onshore wind.
Belgium’s Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten called for Belgium to raise its offshore wind target to 8 GW. That’s up from 5.7 GW under its existing 2030 target.
Last week, the European Commission presented new measures in response to the rise in electricity prices across Europe. The measures are strongly influenced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Commission wants Europe to accelerate renewables deployment to increase energy security and in particular reduce its dependency on fossil fuel imports from Russia.
The current crisis highlights the need to improve Europe’s energy security. Which means more renewables ASAP. The EU and national governments clearly get this. Germany’s Finance Minister Christian Lindner recently called renewables “freedom energies”.
The Romanian Government introduced a set of three measures to tackle high energy prices. The underlying thought behind these new rules is to support consumers who would struggle otherwise. But they are simultaneously putting excessive pressure on power generators and distributors.
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